dumb terminal
<hardware> A type of terminal that consists of a keyboard and a display
screen that can be used to enter and transmit data to, or display data from, a
computer to which it is connected. A dumb terminal, in contrast to an
intelligent terminal, has no independent processing capability or auxiliary
storage and thus cannot function as a stand-alone device.
The dumbest kind of terminal is a glass tty. The next step up has a minimally
addressable cursor but no on-screen editing or other features normally supported
by an intelligent terminal.
Once upon a time, when glass ttys were common and addressable cursors were
something special, what is now called a dumb terminal could pass for a smart
terminal.
[Examples?]
[Jargon File]
(1995-04-14)
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